of dents & bruises

campbell’s soup cans line pantry shelves with walls of water-stained plywood & paisley-specked paper. yellowed edges form rectangular perimeters form columns of circular consumption. rows of irregular respite. metal cans clash, rumble, & tumble amidst rushed days despite empty calendars. boxes & boxed. perimeters of fourteen by twelve-point font. in nearby cages bellies remain undernourished as the underserved & overwatched consume square carrots & asymmetrical peas of lukewarm temperatures & variable temperaments. cold soup in discarded cans. carefully curated. warmed by watchmen & under warnings. allergies no longer alarm. preferences no longer petition. soups always on. eyes always on watch. all residents wait. three square meals a day. days of mealy stares & outdated squares. circularity & penned cans.

cans of many dents. confined in cages of unknown destinies. canisters & conspired consumers of more bruises. off brand markdowns & scuffed markings. scientists caution bacteria bleeds. blood of many nations. many notions, too. spats of he said, she said with no resolution. all residents urged to recycle & minimize waste. each of us sit & wait. cotton clothed clones of each other. uniquely irregular. regularly watched. caged yet not confined to thoughts of singular flavors. tempers boils. nutrients wane. expectations drop. soups on of super-sized hunger/neglect & under-sized harm/address. temperatures cool. cutlery off limits. pigeons peck corners of bullet proof glass. frogs croak in nearby streams. no one ready to admit that amphibians & humans share dna over ninety percent the same. limits & limitations linger. dents & bruises, too.

commissaries stock & stack cans of condensed soup. neither campbell’s originals nor cuisine fit for companions considered friend or foe. sodium intake excess rivals the undernourished & under nurtured. cast offs of infinite variations (common vulgarities, too) & infinitely more varieties. over saturated consommé blends. pour. heat to a boil. stir. serve. on repeat.

Flash Issue 7